2023-12-29 09:36:07
Poised on the Kentucky River, Kentucky’s capital city of Frankfort is famous for its beautiful domed capitol building designed in the French Beaux-Arts style, historical architecture and walking tours, breweries and world-class bourbon distilleries, hustle-bustle downtown and alluring sculptures — including a bronze dragonfly.
Berea: Kentucky’s Folk and Arts Capital brings it with handson LearnShops and working artisan studios, the intricate and alluring Pinnacles trail system and the Kentucky Artisan Center overflowing with traditional and contemporary crafts.
Explore the former Federal army supply depot and hospital that became one of the largest recruitment and training centers for African American soldiers during the Civil War and a place of refuge for formerly enslaved peoples at Nicholasville’s Camp Nelson National Monument.
Sitting on 3,000 Harrodsburg acres is the largest National Historic Landmark in Kentucky: Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill has 34 historic structures, including the 1839 Trustees’ Office, home of The Trustees’ Table restaurant.
How does a horse take a bath? Where can I pet a horse? Go into the stables and behind the scenes on Horse Country Farm Tours at storied farms in Paris, Versailles, Nicholasville and Lexington, the Horse Capital of the World. Learn about draft horses, harnessing and breed history during a Stall- Side Chat at the Big Barn before stepping into the Black Stallion Experience at the Al-Marah Arabian Horse Galleries at Lexington’s Kentucky Horse Park.
Hear a big band when the Great American Brass Band Festival — led by hundreds of trombonists, trumpeters and other brass musicians — marches into Danville. Be the big cheese on Winchester’s Beer Cheese Trail, sampling special-recipe beer cheese on 16 different stops, including at the annual Beer Cheese Festival. Both events take place in June.
Get a taste of bourbon history at Four Roses Distillery’s newly expanded Visitor Center in Lawrenceburg, featuring Bar 1888 and a lineup of curated cocktails. Sip on this: A new Grain to Glass Bourbon Experience is happening at Midway’s Bluegrass Distillers at Elkwood Farm.
“Kentucky Journey”
Abraham Lincoln’s pocket watch. Daniel Boone’s friend’s .45 caliber longrifle, curiously etched with “D.B.” onto the stock. A Civil War soldier’s haunted cornet. A conjured chest of drawers. Through thousands of items on display, Kentucky’s 12,000-year history unspools at Frankfort’s Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History, a Smithsonian Affiliate.
Auto Immersion
Watch as a 20-foot interactive, 3D-projected map comes to life at Toyota Motor Manufacturing’s Toyota Kentucky Experience Center, one of eight exhibits (some interactive) giving a behind the-scenes peek into production processes. Zoom around Georgetown’s 9 million-square foot plant by tram to see vehicles being assembled.
Destination: Distillery District
Coffee, gourmet ice cream, pizza, a brewery, bars, live music and a National Historic Landmark distillery converge in a 25-acre entertainment district in downtown Lexington on grounds where the original James E. Pepper Distillery was built in 1879. The Historic Pepper Distillery District connects past to present with a mixed brew of good times.
Daniel Boone Was Here
Tour the grounds Daniel Boone walked and worked while establishing a settlement in 1775. Richmond’s Fort Boonesborough State Park is that original fort site. The reconstructed working fort with cabins and furnishings brings to life 18th-century life skills and period craft demonstrations by living historians.
How Big Is a Capybara?
How slow is a sloth? How prickly is a porcupine? Find out on tour at Wendt’s Wildlife Adventure in Carlisle. Feed the birds at the parakeet encounter. Slosh through Brushy Creek or the farm’s splash pad. Cool off with ice cream and slushies at the gift shop.
If These Walls Could Talk
Stanton’s William Whitley House was a gathering place for early Kentucky frontiersmen including George Rogers Clark. The fortress-like Georgian-style mansion was Kentucky’s first brick home and featured a circular racetrack. See the Whitley children’s hiding places on tour.
Berea: 859-986-2540, visitberea.com
Carlisle/Nicholas County: 859-749-7986, carlisle-nicholascounty.org
Cynthiana/Harrison County: 859-234-5236, cynthianatourism.com
Danville/Boyle County: 859-618-6433, danvillekentucky.com
Frankfort/Franklin County: 502-875-8687, visitfrankfort.com
Georgetown/Scott County: 502-863-2547, georgetownky.com
Harrodsburg/Mercer County: 800-355-9192, mercercountyky.com
Lawrenceburg/Anderson County: 502-598-3127, visitlawrenceburgky.com
Lexington: 859-233-7299, visitlex.com
Nicholasville/Wilmore: 859-305-6040, visitjessamine.com
Paris/Bourbon County: 859-987-8744, pariskytourism.com
Richmond: 859-626-8474, richmondkytourism.com
Stanford/Lincoln County: 606-365-4500, visitlincolnky.com
Winchester/Clark County: 859-744-0556, visitwinchesterky.com
Woodford County: 859-873-5122, visitwoodfordky.com
Plan your regional road trip!
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